"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people."

by Caryl Weinberg

We can hardly believe it is Monday night. We are halfway through our journey, though it feels as if we've been busy enough to fill three weeks. Our hearts and minds are spinning with the stories we've heard, the people we've met, the meals we've shared, cups of coffee and tea sipped, and words of immense hope, faith, courage and encouragement we've heard again and again from our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers. This is an amazing part of the world where God is clearly active in the lives of people who love Christ and their neighbor.

On Sunday we worshipped at our sister church, the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Pastor Mitri Raheb preached from 1 Peter 5 (in Arabic), about the need for Elders to shepherd the flocks they've been given charge of, with humility and love. Susan Colten read Scripture and we sang and prayed, some each in English and Arabic. Don and Linda had arrived in Bethlehem during the service. So it was good to finally be all together.

Later on, we visited a Palestian family farm just outside of Bethlehem. Our guide, Alam, (meaning hope), told us of her family which has been Christian since the time of Christ. A member of the Christmas Lutheran Church, she expressed a deep faith through her words of hope and love, and her stories of perseverance and action. Her family farm, theirs since 1916, is now on the Israeli demolition list and is being decided in the courts right now. When Israeli soldiers attempted to overtake their land nearly 20 years ago, as a family they stood for 2 weeks in front of their gates. Through an amazing set of circumstances the Army relented. Alam's father then committed their farm to be a place where people of every race, faith and nation might come to learn about peace and reconciliation. He named the farm the "Tent of Nations".  Today the landscape has changed around the farm as they are surrounded on every hilltop by settlements.  Settlements have running water and electricity, as well as access to good roads free of road blocks. Only eight months ago, electricity was installed on Alam's, after their 98 years of living there. They still have only water in cisterns and are not free to drive from the road up to their home. Despite the difficulties, Alam speaks of the life in abundance that comes through Christ, and the hope that they have for Palestinians and Israelis to one day live in peace. "We are all humans. We are told to know and love our neighbors. The tent of Nations is here to help us do that."

Monday began with a tour of the International Center where we're staying. Angie, who first learned to play the bells as a young girl when the group from FPCE visited some years ago, led us around and told of all the incredible works going on through the ministries of Diyar Consortium of our sister church.  From there we toured several of the ministries located a short distance away. Visiting the Health and Wellness Center, we heard about many ministries including the Parish Nursing program which serves over 1,000 people with one nurse and several community workers. We learned about the older adults ministry and saw the clinics for endocrinology, audiology, psychotherapy, and more. And we met with the principal of the primary and secondary school (all in one), and toured some of the classrooms.

The theme throughout was hope. Whether talking about the need for hope for young Palestinians, or for those over 60, the dynamic, joyful staff and leaders spoke of their commitments to faith, their belief in God though Christ, their love for their homeland of Palestine and for all the people they serve. What we didn't hear were complaints or words of despair or hatred, rather a longing to live in peace and in freedom where everyone has the chance to thrive.

Switching gears, I will say that we just heard the news of Alan Borg's death this morning and were all very sad. We talked and spent some time in prayer for Joan, Peter, Alison and Stephen and all their family. We wish we could be with Joan now....But we trust that many are caring for her.

One thought as I think about the Palestinian situation and even the Borg's right now. Psalm 126 says "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people." We trust that the same Lord surrounds the Palestinians as well as Joan, even now.

Bethlehem - Day 3

by Dave Urban

Today started with the incongruity of sitting in a totally German Lutheran church worshiping in Arabic. Christmas Lutheran Church was founded by the German Lutherans in the mid 1800s and in the late 1800's built the church. The stained glass (which is beautiful- and has survived both the 1967 war and two Intefadas) has German looking angels, Jesus and other biblical characters and verses in German. The only thing is the local congregation has painted some beautiful Arabic calligraphy in certain parts. I did  not take pictures of the inside, because I was coming to worship.

We hung out at coffee hour (sweet Arabic coffee in little mugs- definitely sipping stuff and VERY good) and talked to a bunch of folk. I got the impression that many folks had been there for generations. Once again the difference between a group of people tied to a place verses us Americans really stood out to me. Once again I heard stories of how Israel is making life difficult to travel, to repair stuff, to maintain a sense of living. I was also struck by the double minority status of these folks- Palestinian in a land in which Israel is working to get them out, and Christian in a Muslim community. Life on the street was a normal life- It is easy to tell the Muslim women from the Christian women, in that the Muslims wear headscarfs. The ratio of Muslim to Christians is easily 100:1 if not greater. 

Later that day we went to the farm of the Nassar family. They have started something called Tent of Nations- www. tentofnations.org. Basically they are Palestinian Christians who have owned a farm outside of Bethlehem since 1916. They evidently have title papers and ownership records going continuously back to that time. Over the last 20 years they have been fighting in the Israeli courts to keep there land, as it is in a zone called the "C" zone, which evidently is a zone where Israel is confiscating (or forced payment for) Palestinian land. The land is surrounded on 3 sides by subsidized Israeli settlements ( the ones the UN has declared illegal) and the Israeli government is trying to have the Nassars leave. They have offered money, taken them to court, cut of the road, water and electricity to the farm, and at one time had it surrounded by bulldozers and tanks. It was only because a Danish film crew happened to come by that kept the bulldozers from tearing it apart. This Tent of Nations has become a  place where people from all over (primarily Europe- I met a German guy who was with the German version of  Mennonite Central committee) come and offer help to maintain the land while these folk work through the court system. This is not an isolated case, but is one of a bunch of actions all over the place. The thing I was most struck by was Amal Nassar kept talking about how she was making this a place of peace, and her big desire was to work for peace. She had amazing stories of peaceful encounters with soldiers and settlers, 

Once again I am struck by the land ethic. We are not rooted to the land, and in some ways I wonder if the rootedness to the land is a millstone about their neck. But it seems that somebody has to be rooted to the land, otherwise it gets misused. Looking at the settlements, it is clear that the settlement builders do not think about natural resources and how to husband them. What they are building is ultimately unsustainable. Since what I do for a profession is land stewardship I think I understand in a way why they are so tied to the land. I also see that they really have nothing else, and no where else to go to. That to me is one of the issues between the Palestinians and the Israelis- they both want the same pieces of land, and they both cant have it.

Later on I eat dinner with another member of Christmas Lutheran (the Nassars are members) who it turns out is actually Armenian and has a Jordanian passport and lives currently in Amman.  We got talking about this land ethic, and he says that he does not have the same feelings, that they are more like the ones I know, he has owned land and sold it, and moved around over time. But he once again pointed out how the Isreali's are squeezing the Palestinians in so many ways that they are dying inside, and that the Palestinians are seeking to preserve themselves in any way they can, and if they are landholders who are being threatened with eviction, they will fight on that front.  Overall I think I am pretty depressed about the whole situation, and don't feel like there is anything that can be done. 

Amal Nassar told a story about how she is trying to work with the local Palestinian Village which lies at the bottom of the hill, because the women there are traditional , ill educated, Muslim women who only make babies and take care of the house. The rates of depression and suicide among these women is huge, and she has been working to get them to talk to each other,to get them some education and to meet the folks who come to the farm so that they can work out their frustrations at the untenable situations in a different manner. 

Jeannie from our group and I were talking while walking back to the guest house about trying to understand what the Isreali's want and if there is a solution to this issue. We understand that all is not clean on both sides of the fence, and that the Palestinians have done aweful things to the Isreali's. But we also understand that when you get down to this level, we are talking about people- who are real and not abstract, and bad things are happening to them. They all seem so glad that we have come to learn what they are going through. I don't know what else to do right now.

This is the photo that I will leave you with. This sits at the gate of the Nassar's farm, and is a testament to their faith and their understanding of what Jesus calls them to be. May I be half as  able to be this grace filled.